The Creed of the United States

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We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This is perhaps the best-known phrase in American history, as the phrase is generally considered the American creed and the foundation of democracy. The American creed represents our need for independence and equality of life. The American creed which appears in the Declaration of Independence written by our great leaders has been a statement that we have seen reinforced over history by our most influential leaders. Some of these statements are the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I have a dream speech. The Declaration of Independence is considered to be the founding document of the United States of America. At the time the declaration was introduced, the colonies were “united” in declaring independence from Great Britain. They wanted to declare their freedom from taxation and from the civil rights abuses from the King. The Declaration was created after King George III and Parliament sought to establish firm control over the land obtained from France during the French and Indian War. To help pay off war debts, King George III began to tax the colonies. Colonists began to get increasingly more rebellious, resulting in actions like the Boston Tea Party. In response to the rebellion the King and Parliament exacted the “Intolerable Acts,” which caused the colonies to call the First Continental Congress together, who met in September of 1774 in Philadelphia. The First Continental Congress met again in May of 1775 setting up the Second Continental Congress. The Secon... ... middle of paper ... ...to complete the journey," (Ailes, 2008). I agree with Kellie Ailes’ statement in the sense that this wasn’t just a famous speech; it was in fact a message of hope. Hope for our future is why our founding fathers wrote the declaration of independence, and why Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech. There was no “hate” in this speech at all, his words were mostly about peace, thus offering a vision that everyone could buy into. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed what all our great leaders sought out to address, the message of the American creed. Our country was based on this creed and throughout history we have proven that we stand by these truths and believe in their ideals. Modification throughout history has occurred and our culture has transformed since the signing of our Declaration, but our goal and values have not changed as shown by these three statements.

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